What to do about Josh - Printable Version
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Re: What to do about Josh - needle - 10-17-2012
Since Randy Moss left, I've found the New England Patriots to play a pretty boring brand of offense.
I'm not a super-NFL fan, but I'd rather watch teams with genuine offensive playmakers than the interchangeable parts of the New England offense.
Luck was exciting to watch in part because we watched him grow and develop into an all-world quarterback, and his running also added to the excitement.
Taylor is fun to watch, but Ertz and Toilolo are downgrades from Fleener in that they lack the speed to take it all the way. Our WRs are a bunch of snoozers (what I would give for Luke Powell or some waterbug-type athlete), and Kelsey Young just doesn't touch the ball enough to be a real reason to watch.
Re: What to do about Josh - doug - 10-17-2012
I'll add a nuance to my perspective based on the last two posts.
Unlike somnambule, I do think we have players with the talent and skill to make our offense exciting and fun to watch. I actually think we have a lot of them. Even though Josh has consistently struggled other than the 2nd half vs. Arizona, I am not even convinced that he (much less Nottingham, Hogan, et al) doesn't have the ability to lead an offense that is fun to watch -- the jury is out on that for me, but Josh has thrown a number of catchable balls that have been dropped in every game. But Josh has played best when he (in my opinion) hasn't been forced to play in the handcuffs I think the coaches have put on him. He played well in the 2nd half vs. Arizona when we had to go for it to keep up with Arizona's torrid offense, as he did in the last drive of the 1st half at ND. My sense is that Shaw's approach is always to take the absolute minimum risks he can in order to win -- that is what I have called a play-not-to-lose approach which I find hugely frustrating and polar opposite of Harbaugh's approach. The result has been an offense that is leaden, slow (do we lead in the nation in delay of game penalties?), rigid and uncreative.
In reference to needle's comment, I think we have a lot of play-makers on this team but they either aren't getting enough chances to make plays (e.g., Kelsey Young) or they somehow haven't been able to play with the confidence they have to have to make plays. But I think the ability to do far more is there.
Re: What to do about Josh - dabigv13 - 10-17-2012
(10-17-2012, 07:54 AM)doug link Wrote:Unlike somnambule, I do think we have players with the talent and skill to make our offense exciting and fun to watch. I actually think we have a lot of them. Even though Josh has consistently struggled other than the 2nd half vs. Arizona, I am not even convinced that he (much less Nottingham, Hogan, et al) doesn't have the ability to lead an offense that is fun to watch -- the jury is out on that for me, but Josh has thrown a number of catchable balls that have been dropped in every game. But Josh has played best when he (in my opinion) hasn't been forced to play in the handcuffs I think the coaches have put on him. He played well in the 2nd half vs. Arizona when we had to go for it to keep up with Arizona's torrid offense, as he did in the last drive of the 1st half at ND.
I think there definitely is something to your argument that the offense is handcuffed by playcalling, but the important thing to remember about that Arizona game is that Arizona is terrible at defense. Yes JN played a lot better when he started looking downfield and letting it rip, but he also had the luxury of having all his receivers open all the time.
Re: What to do about Josh - doug - 10-17-2012
dabigv, I wasn't saying I think Josh is capable of being a play-maker, only that I cannot yet conclude with reasonable certainty that he is not. In truth, I doubt he is the play-maker we need at QB and I wish Nottingham or others had been given a chance in light of our lack of offensive production.
But as to Arizona, stats support your characterization of AZ's defense, but Josh threw several well-thrown balls requiring good touch to receivers who were pretty well covered, which surprised me given what I had previously seen.
Re: What to do about Josh - 81alum - 10-18-2012
First, the 1977 team went 9-3, not 8-4. It was the 1978 team in Walsh's second year that went 8-4. We would have gone 10-2 if it were not for a close loss at Colorado for the opener. Darrin Nelson was discovered in that game, and had Walsh known before the game just what he had with Darrin he could have turned him loose for even more yards.
Yes, I would say that the 1977 offense was vastly more talented and better coached than the 2012 offense.
However, I would also say that the 1977 defense was probably less talented than the 2012 defense. Gordy and Milt McCall were our defense's biggest stars, but the defense had a horrible time against elite teams, as when SC beat us 49-0 and Washington beat us 45-21. Teams racked up a lot of yards against that defense. It was a "bend but don't break" sort of defense, except when it broke.
Re: What to do about Josh - stan01 - 10-18-2012
Impressed with the way Oregon has utilized back-up QB Brian Bennett in the ASU game so far. I know we've used Hogan on that five yard run, I'd like to see more plays designed for him.